Chris Shelton

Giving up technology and social media: why university lecturers stop using technology in teaching

University lecturers use a wide range of technologies when teaching and there has been much research into how particular technologies are adopted. However, there are also many technologies that, despite early promise, are no longer being used in university teaching and have been abandoned by institutions or individuals. This article presents the results of a qualitative investigation into why university lecturers stop using technology. It used detailed episodic narrative interviews to explore the experiences of lecturers using technology in their teaching at three UK universities. While the data provides examples of technologies that were discarded as they became outdated and were replaced by new devices, this was not the only reason that technologies are rejected. The data also demonstrated that even relatively up-to-date or innovative technologies or practices (e.g. the use of Facebook) may be abandoned. The article discusses the participants’ experiences of ceasing to use technology and demonstrates the importance of context in decisions about using technology and social media in teaching. The article argues that studies of technology adoption should be accompanied by research that revisits the sites of these studies to consider how the implementation of technology continues over time and how it comes to an end.

Mobilising knowledge through global partnerships to support research-informed teaching: five models for translational research

ABSTRACT Improving the quality of teaching is of global concern: UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4c in the Education 2030: Framework for Action calls for high quality teaching for all. The OECD challenges the education system to improve Knowledge Management.JET’s (2015) special issue: Translational Research (TR) and Knowledge Mobilisation in Teacher Education introduced the concept of ‘translational’ or ‘theory to practice’ research - well-established in medicine but not in education.Five TR models were subsequently developed by the MESH charity’s international network with organisations in South Africa, Bangladesh, Australia, Pakistan, UK. These distinct models engage 1) university staff and teachers 2) subject associations, 3) research units, 4) an international NGO working in crisis settings, 5) PhD tutors and students.Each model shares common features forming the MESH Translational Research methodology introduced in this article. A TR repository is part of the MESH knowledge mobilisation strategy giving teachers access to research summaries which, overtime, accumulate knowledge. TR publications called MESHGuides (www.meshguides.org) complement existing forms of publication. This article proposes the MESH TR methodology as one affordable and scalable solution to OECD and UNESCO’s challenges of keeping teachers up-to-date and making new knowledge accessible to teachers regardless of location.

An ecological model for university faculty members’ thinking about technology

When university faculty and students use technology, they do so in a specific context and researchers have acknowledged that in order to understand use (or non-use) of technology in higher education they need to account for this. However, although the importance of context is not questioned, there is little consensus over which contexts are relevant and how they interact with an individual’s use of technology. This article proposes an “ecological” model for the contexts that influence a university faculty member’s thinking about technology and uses qualitative case study data to show the wide range of contexts that need to be included in this. It argues that a much broader range of contexts needs to be taken into account in any research that investigates faculty thinking, perceptions or decisions about using technology and that only considering some of these contexts risks misunderstanding the complex influences on faculty members’ thinking about their work.

How can we make computing lessons more inclusive

Whilst there is a substantial body of research that shows how Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) can support schools and teachers to make their classrooms more inclusive, there is a need for more evidence describing how best to ensure that the teaching of computing itself is inclusive. This paper reports on a literature review of inclusive education in school computing lessons. It identifies a number of inclusive practices, including ensuring a relevant and authentic curriculum that focuses on depth of understanding, promoting culturally relevant tasks, and ensuring an inclusive environment that challenges bias. The review also identifies a need for much more research into what constitutes an inclusive computing classroom.